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This exact shade of yellow is prevailing at New York Fashion Week and Ohne Titel had it flying as a caped dress. They've had more fun with this S/S 2012 collection playing with their knits in a slightly more ladylike way. The technicality of their knits has been somewhat downplayed in this collection but I'll take the easy breezy summer knits.

Buyers left the Preen show nodding their heads enthusiastically with approval. I feel like it's stating the obvious when you say that Preen is good…. they are consistently good and yet they don't need to make a big shout about that fact. For S/S 2012, they pixelated peonies and contrasted that with black ink florals placing the prints in all the right places as well as knowing when and where to deploy a subtle ruffle or two. Preen Pretty is the sort of prettiness I can get down with...

Derek Lam's referenced Frank Sinatra and Rat Pack for his California-inspired collection. Not sure how any of that came into the collection but there's no denying that Lam's ease with American sportswear yields results, such as this beautiful coral red leather trench-coat.

I'm not one to gush over bras and knickers but The Lake and Stars isn't just another frou-frou lingerie label. Designers Maayan Zilberman and Nikki Dekker looked to Mexico City for inspiration for their latest collection which glowed under the rust lighting. Their use of a 'plus-sized' model felt utterly natural in the presentation, selling me a set of bra and knickers in a way that actually, the smaller girls didn't. Weird that.

Well, actually the plastic tubes were filled with strawberry syrup made to look like blood but it made its point at young New York designer Katie Gallagher's show. Gallagher has a penchant for the dark and cultish and this collection concentrated in vampiric red and black explored a range of textures that gave depth to what can be a severe colour combination.

Patrik Ervell is joining a mini-wave of menswear designers (mostly our London lot) that are turning their hand to womenswear. Patrik Ervell's menswear is so well-articulated that I half expected the womenswear to fall short. It didn't. It embodied the same spirit as the mens but with a refinement that made Ervell's girls stalk about in leather t-shirts, ribbed knit jumpers and perfectly fitting suits. Girls who borrow from menswear will be enamoured with Ervell's womenswear debut.

The title doesn't refer to Red Indians but the cowboy spirit was well and truly alive at Thakoon's new collection along with a look at the Indian origins of the paisley pattern. It was an unexpected culture clash that yielded striking results. Thakoon seems to be gaining confidence in his print play that now dares to be risky as opposed to straight-forward pretty.

Dean Quinn was jubilant about his New York debut, with Made (previously known as Mac and Milk) giving up a good platform to showcase his succinct collection. The beading of that memorable CSM BA collection has been somewhat refined and pared back but then everything is juiced up with neon orange and mint green. I'd like to see more looks to really consecrate what Quinn is trying to say but this surefooted beginning should put him in good stead for next season at NYFW.

Jeremy Laing was an ANDAM finalist this year and his profile continues to grow bit by bit. His latest collection was made for moving with shapes at the optimum level of looseness to fall properly and move in perfect motion when coming down a runway.

Mark Fast touches down in New York by showing his Faster Line. Wonder if he's looking for fashion capital domination seeing as he shows his collaboration with Pinko in Milan and his mainline in London. Faster has previously been predominantly black and rather like a basics body line. This new collection complimented by collaborative shoes with Aldo, is an ice cream parlour of powder blue, sherbet orange and lilac. The techniques are unmistakably the hand of Fast, with his tightly drilled holes dotting the tight tees, bras, skirts and mini dresses. More of this accessible Fast fare is definitely welcome when up against his pricier mainline.

Every season sees a batch of designers come to New York to try their luck. Armour has been in New York for a while impressing with his sculptural monochrome ensembles. With a heavy dose of cut-outs, Perfecto jacket references and a welcome shade of fuschia, Armour will have no shortage of New York young things clamouring for his pieces.

New York designers are dipping into print this season with gusto but Duro Olowu has been playing that game for years. His vibrant presentation had girls twirling about in florals, stripes, leopard print and vaguely African textiles. Jamaican immigrants arriving into England in the fifties was one image that immediately popped up as does 70s YSL.

Pamela Love fans love to load up her animalia, multiplying and tribal jewellery. You wonder when Love will run out of maligned tribes/ethnicities to fall onto for inspiration. This time round, she's gone to North African Berbers and Morocco to mine for gems with colours of amythest, lapis and malachite to accent Love's burnished silverware.

Hexa by Kuho got a largely Japanese/Korean crowd but what was shown was definitely worth seeing by all. Inspired by Russian military insignia and badges, Jung Kuho demonstrated a finesse in precise tailoring using his motif wisely save for a few crazy showpieces at the end. I especially love the nod to regimental ribbondry in this turquoise skirt.

Lying around on a beanbag sucking on a cucumber and mint ice-lolly just doesn’t happen in any other fashion week. ONLY in New York can we join Anna Laub and her beautiful models trussed up in Prism sunnies and swimwear on the Le Bain rooftop at The Standard. Everything was so impossibly pictoresque that I had to escape in ten minutes for fear of my English-aclimatised body melting.

Helmut Lang is now of course a different beast to the namesake the brand stemmed from. As a contemporary label with a grungey aesthetic that has a keen customer base, Helmut Lang fulfills that niche perfectly. Just wondering if it really needed such a big cavernous warehouse space to make that point…